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“Right.”
“Without Ruby.”
I swallow hard. “Yes.”
“Henry—”
“It’s fine,” I cut her off. “I made a promise to Alfred, and I won’t forget it. Cian’s happiness is my first priority.”
Iris doesn’t answer for several seconds, but then says, “Okay.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” I ask. “It’s creeping me out.”
“Because you’re inOhio. On purpose. That feels like a cry for help.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “Ohio is fine. Maybe you should come for a visit.” I don’t mean that. Ireallydon’t mean that. Iris would scare the hell out of these nice small-town folk.
Then again, some of them are real assholes. Maybe a dose of Iris is what a few of them need.
“I’ll pass,” she says. “But…”
Iris Lee is a direct, bluntly honest person. She doesn’t tiptoe around anyone’s feelings, least of any of ours.
“What?” I ask.
“Alfred never meant for you to sacrificeyourhappiness, Henry. He loved you, too.”
My heart gives a hard thump. “Alfred was focused on the big picture. The O’Gradys and Olsens need to be secure, safe, and fully supported.”
“Alfred wantedeveryoneto be secure, safe, and fully supported,” she says.
“Right.”
“You’re part of ‘everyone’, Henry.”
I let that just hang in the air between us for a moment. My chest feels tight.
“You’re part of the family, too,” she says. “You matter, too.”
I have to actually swallow hard when she says that. If someone asked me if I felt like part of the O’Grady family, I would have said yes. I’ve always been included. I’ve always known they love me and have my back.
But no, I’ve never thought that it would be okay to choose myself over them. “Iris…”
“And besides,” she goes on. “They’re all good. The O’Gradys and Olsens arefinallysettled and good. The plan is in place.”
I frown. “Wait, what? The plan? The thing that has been going off the rails for years?”
She laughs.
And my eyes widen.
I have worked for Iris Lee for years. She is smart, tough, loyal, driven, scary organized. She’s also a whole bunch of other adjectives. But easy-going is not one of them. And I have never ever heard her laugh on a business phone call with one or more of us.
In fact, while I’m sure I have heard her laugh, I can’t think of a time right off the top of my head.
“Everything is great. Torin is on the throne. Linnea is advising the palace, and so much more. Fiona is settled and happy doing her advocacy work. Saoirse is growing into an amazing young woman. And she now has an amazing cousin to share being a teenaged royal princess with.”
I smile thinking of how quickly the bond formed between Saoirse and Mariah.